The invention relates to thermal control of electronic components such as field-effect transistors used in voltage regulations in power silicon products including processors and chipsets in computers. Improved thermal control is attained with the invention in a cost-effective manner which allows a relatively large number of electronic components to be placed per unit foot print area of the motherboard while lowering operating temperatures of the components.
Electronic components, such as field-effect transistors used for voltage is regulation in processors and chipsets in computers, generate heat commensurate with the electrical power dissipated thereby. As processor and chipset power increases, the power dissipated by these components also increases which provides its own set of thermal control challenges. To meet these challenges, in some high-power applications, field-effect transistors are designed to stand upright off their circuit board, also known as a motherboard, to avoid excessive motherboard heating. Electronic components have also been provided with a heat conductive backing, typically made of metal, for dissipating the heat generated by the component. In addition, upright field-effect transistors are sometimes placed next to one another to form xe2x80x9csandwichesxe2x80x9d. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical, prior art field-effect transistor sandwich configuration wherein first and second field effect transistors 1 and 2, each having a metal backing member 4, are located next to one another with a heat sink 5 therebetween. Electrical leads 6, 7 and 8 on each of the field-effect transistors, couple the components to the board.
The heat generating electrical components in U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,662 are each provided with a relatively large heat sink having a main panel and side/fin panels that includes slots to permit air flow therethrough. To reduce the area of the motherboard for accommodating a plurality of these components with large heat sinks, a heat sink of one component is interleaved with that of a neighboring heat sink of a second component. Cooling air is forced, as by use of a fan, to flow through the slots provided in the side panels of the heat sinks. The side panels of the heat sinks are close to each other and their slots are aligned to aid air flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,906 discloses a vent chimney heat sink designed for an electrical assembly wherein a heat sink is in direct contact with a first integrated circuit on a substrate for removing heat therefrom. Heat generated by a second integrated circuit on the board in spaced relation to the first integrated circuit is removed by convective heat transfer from a top surface of the second integrated circuit to an air flow through a channel provided in the heat sink adjacent the second integrated circuit. A fan is employed to generate the air flow.
There is a need for an improved method and apparatus for low cost thermal control of multiple heat-generating electronic components such as field-effect transistors which allow more components to be placed closer together while simultaneously lowering operating temperatures of the components.